Victim, suspect in Rubio’s stabbing identified

The Solana Beach Rubio’s, in the Beach Walk Shopping Center at 437 S. Coast Hwy. 101, reopens for business on May 17, two days after a manager was allegedly stabbed head by a transient, who later died after being shot by a sheriff’s deputy. Photo by Bianca Kaplanek

REGION — Robin Rodriguez, the Rubio’s manager who was stabbed May 15 at the Solana Beach restaurant, is expected to make a full recovery.

His attacker, identified by the San Diego County Sheriff’s Department as 34 year-old transient Emmanuel Ibarra, died of multiple gunshot wounds later that day at the hospital.

Deputies from the North Coastal Station in Encinitas responded at 3:54 p.m. to a report of an assault with a deadly weapon at the fast-food restaurant in the Beach Walk Shopping Center at 437 S. Coast Hwy. 101.

When they arrived, according to a Sheriff’s Department press release, they found the injured Rodriquez, 49, who witnesses said had been stabbed in the face. The suspect fled the scene but witnesses gave deputies a description of the man.

Deputies soon located a man matching the description about four blocks south of Rubio’s, in the 3200 block of Camino del Mar in Del Mar, near the train tracks under the Via del la Valle overpass.

Ibarra was still armed with the knife. He came from behind a concrete bridge support, “knife in hand and quickly moved toward the deputy closest to him,” the press release states.

That deputy immediately began backing away from Ibarra but lost his footing and fell back onto the ground. A second deputy yelled at Ibarra, who turned his attention toward him. Ibarra immediately charged the second deputy while still armed with the knife.

That deputy fired his handgun and struck Ibarra. Additional deputies arrived at the scene and got the knife away from Ibarra.

Medics were then able to enter the scene and administer first aid. Ibarra was treated at the scene and transported to the hospital, where he was pronounced dead.

While examining the scene, homicide detectives located the knife near where Ibarra was shot. The tip of the knife appeared to have been broken off.

At the hospital, doctors removed what appeared to be the tip of the knife from Rodriguez’s head.